“Lightning and high fire danger will likely result in new fire starts,” the National Weather Service warning said. “Gusty thunderstorm winds could contribute to fire spread. Despite rainfall, initial attack resources could be overwhelmed and holdover fires are possible.”

Ironically, weather conditions are expected to improve around the Taylor Creek and Garner Complex fires to the north. Those fires have brought the greatest danger to towns such as Wimer and Grants Pass, meteorologists said.

"It might get worse in some locations, but here on the Garner Complex and for the fires more northerly in Oregon, the winds actually got better and calmed down last night," NWS meteorologist Tom Wright said. "Conditions are still very hot, but we're not going to have the critical fire conditions we've been seeing, at least in our area."

Even though it might be slightly good news for the most critical of Southern Oregon's fires, any new fires in the region will stretch resources thin, Wright said.

"The concern is that if there's new fires, some of our resources will have to go out on initial attack," he said. "We're already pretty stretched."

This map show current wildfires and unhealthy air quality levels.(Photo: Oregon Smoke Blog / Oregon Department of Forestry)

There are currently eight major wildfires or multi-fire complexes, and five regions with evacuation warnings in place.

Taylor Creek Fire (evacuations west of Merlin and Grants Pass)

The most active and dangerous fire of the past few days has been the Taylor Creek Fire, burning west of Grants Pass and Merlin.

The fire continued to grow Saturday, reaching almost 3,000 acres and bringing a fresh round of evacuations in the populated areas near Merlin area.

“It’s definitely spreading,” said Tina Young, public information officer for the Oregon Department of Forestry. “It’s a tough one to get at directly, so we’ve been working contingency lines around the fire to hold it in place, while we have almost 30 aircraft assigned doing drops from above.”

"Firefighters are prepared to initial attack any new fire starts if they occur. The fire is expected to become more active today, as atmospheric conditions become more unstable with a shift in the weather."

The Hendrix Fire already has evacuation warnings in place for around 35 homes near Ruch in Applegate Valley area.

It has also closed a large area of roads and trails in the region, including 13 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from Observation Gap to the Grouse Gap Shelter.

A public meeting is planned for 6 p.m. Sunday at the Ruch Branch Library. The meeting will also be livestreamed. There are 467 personnel currently working the fire.

There are two active wildfires burning on the east side of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness west of Selma — the Klondike and Granite fires.

Both appear to be growing, although acres numbers wasn't avalable

"This area is very rugged and has been unsafe to put members into the fire area," fire teams reported Sunday morning. "A strategy is being developed to limit the growth of the fires using air resources and old fire lines and existing roads in the area.